help/advice on wide angle lense/batteries for JVC 520U

p@mast3rs wrote on 8/11/2003, 8:51 AM

I have one of the JVC gvl520U and I noticed on the lense there is threading that looks like it will accept additional lenses and filters. My question is, where can I find a wide angle lense for this camera? Also, does anyone know if anyone produces a higher capacity battery for the same camera? Im lucky to get maybe an hour with the factory battery that was included.

Thanks.

Comments

frank_jarle wrote on 8/11/2003, 9:16 AM

Yes ad yes (i think)

I have a JVC almost same as you except i have 320U, you can attach an extra wide angle lense and also get an extra battery, i bought extra battery with higher capacity, but the guy tricked me to pay higher price, i didnt know until later. Anyway.

Im sure you can find what you need in any camera shop.

p@mast3rs wrote on 8/11/2003, 11:01 AM

any idea what brand i am looking for or where i can find it on the web? the camera shops in my area said they dont think there is anything available so needless to say they havent been very much help to me.

thanks in advance.

craftech wrote on 8/11/2003, 11:02 AM

A four hour battery (2 hours with the LCD on) for the camera is around $95 with shipping. JVC battery model BNV428u. http://www.digitalfotoclub.com/sc/main_item.asp?id=228582010#shipping

They have a good resellerrating:

http://www.resellerratings.com/seller2889.html

A comparable battery at Walmart is $80

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=1679602&sourceid=09925125151895438303

You also have 90 days to return it if it doesn't work well.

The camera thread size is 37 mm. JVC specs call for filters for that camera with no mention of extra lenses. I would go to CircuitCity and ask to try this Sony lens on it in the store to see how well it works. It is reasonably priced at $40.

http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.jsp?BV_EngineID=cccladcjdjddkhkcfngcfkmdffhdffh.0&b=g&oid=14258&BV_SessionID=%40%40%40%400594843537.1060617501%40%40%40%40&sourceid=00306954126551776090&com.broadvision.session.new=Yes&affiliateid=30695412&goTo=detail&vendor=befree&c=1&b=g

John

PS: Don't spend a lot of money on accessories for the camera. The longevity of JVC consumer products is generally marginal at best. If the camera goes, you will probably end up buying a different one and the accessories may not fit.

IanG wrote on 8/11/2003, 12:00 PM

>The camera thread size is 37 mm
That should be standard, but some European models use 37.5 mm. Make sure there's no vignetting with the lens - you can end up with it doing nothing for you!

Ian G.

mfranco wrote on 8/11/2003, 1:04 PM

There's a company called Tiffen that makes an assortment of filters for 37mm rings. They sell them individually or in kits. A basic .6 neutral density filter and clear saftey lens sell for less than $20.00 in So. Calif. and makes doing depth of field setups easier and really extends other manual settings. Plus the clear protects your built in lens from knocks and other harmful junk. Highly recommended.

They have polarizing, masking, special effect filters, etc. for a variety of cameras. There are other companies too, but I've had good luck with these filters so I've stuck with tiffen.

They can also be very expensive ($100+ usd) depending on what you want, but they work very well with the 520U (that's what I own). There's also a lot of info on the net on using filters to extend the capabilities of your video camera.

http://www.tiffen.com/

The website isn't the greatest but it does have a lot of useful info once you find it.

- Franco